Water taxi
There is no better way to discover town, than by water taxi! Fort Lauderdale is also called *Venice of America*, because of its abundance of waterways and canals. 165 miles, to be exact, compared to “only” 26 miles in Venice itself. With one ticket for the water taxi, you can hop on and off all day and night. 12 stops take you to the beach, the Galleria Mall, downtown and to different restaurants. You can even watch the cruise ships and go to Hollywood on the same ticket.
Walk on famous Las Olas Boulevard
Here you will find an plenty of restaurants, fashion boutiques and art galleries.
Bonnet House
A historic home from 1895, well worth visiting.
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
Situated on Sunrise Blvd between the intracoastal and A1A, the 180 acre state park is an oasis where you can rent canoes, go camping and have a picknick.
Fun on the water
There is an abundance of fun you can have on the water! You can go sportsfishing, snorkeling, sightseeing, paddleboarding, take a champagne sunset cruise, go on a gondola tour, to name a few. Or why not a pirate adventure for the kids?
Mermaid show
At the Sheraton Hotel on Fort Lauderdale beach, you can catch a real mermaid show! Fridays and Saturdays at the Wreck bar, 6:30pm.
Watch the cruise ships
Park by South beach and walk as far south along the beach as you can. Now you have ended up by the inlet to Port Everglades (Stranahan river), where you can watch cruise ship take off on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, most often around 4-5pm. As of October, 2017, you can watch Harmony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, leave the port every Saturday at 4:30pm. Check for ship schedules here.
Rent a bicycle
Fort Lauderdale has been working hard to get a reputation as the most bicycle friendly city in USA. They have added bicycle paths and there are also bicycle rental stations spread out all over town.
Sawgrass Mills Mall
One of the largest outlet malls in the country, with more than 350 stores. Great prices on designer and casual clothes.
Fort Lauderdale Beach
Follow Las Olas Blvd as far east as you can get, and you will end up on the famous strip with restaurants, bars and hotels. Not only is the beach deep and long, the turquoise ocean will amaze you. If you walk towards the south, you will end up on south beach with tables and bbq grills. Here is also some shade from the pine trees. With an average annual temperature of 75F (24C), plus 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, you will have plenty of chances to swim and get a suntan.
Turtle watching
The sea turtle nesting season is from March-October, when you will see the nesting sites on the beaches. If you are really lucky you might get to see hundreds of baby turtles crawl out of their nest, heading for the ocean.
Take a cruise
Pop over to Bahamas – a 3,5 hour ferry ride is all it takes! Or take a longer cruise to the beautiful paradise islands in the Caribbean. The choices are endless since Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale’s port, is the third busiest cruise port in the world. Here you can also catch Harmony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world.
Museum of Discovery and Science with its 3D IMAX Theater
The most visited museum in Florida. Located downtown.